 He was assigned as a landsman to the , part of Rear Admiral David Farragut's West Gulf Blockading Squadron.On August 5, 1864, during the Battle of Mobile Bay, Admiral Farragut led a squadron of eighteen Union ships, including the "Brooklyn", into the Confederate-held Mobile Bay.As the squadron came under fire from Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines, and four Confederate ships, Brown served the "Brooklyn's" shell whip, a device which lifted boxes of gunpowder from below decks up to the gun deck.